The Things that Mean the Most
by potato-sensei
Summary: A series of oneshots regarding the things that are most valuable to the cast of Avatar. Rated [T] for graphic violence in some parts. They just keep getting longer Chapter 5, part I is up!
1. Sokka's Warrior Wolf Tail

**Sokka's Warrior Wolf Tail **

_"No one gets left behind  
We've lived through hell on earth together   
Together in death I'll be by your side  
No one gets left behind  
You know I'll always have your back  
And you always know I'll keep the memory of you alive."_

-The Hudson Falcons, _No One Gets Left Behind_

The thing that means the most to me, would have to be my pony-tai-- I mean, my "top knot".

When I was six years old, my father gave me my first haircut. I was a little afraid at first, knowing that my father would be shaving my hair off with a sharp blade, but... he was my father, and I trusted him even though I was afraid. My father told me, that's what makes a man brave: to do things even though you are afraid.

When he was finished shaving he pulled the remainder of my hair back onto the top of my head into a short ponytail. He tied it with a piece of short brown silk, and then said that he was finished. My father handed me a mirror and told me to look, "It's called a warrior's wolf tail; it means that you, my son, are going to be a strong warrior just like me, and just like your grandfather, and just like his father. But know this, Sokka, my son, the reason we have adopted the name of the wolves is because in the wolf packs, no one gets left behind. In the war we are fighting, you must remember that it's not just yourself you're fighting for. You're fighting to protect your family. You're fighting to protect the ones you love."

When my father went away with the other warriors, I was the one left to "protect" everybody in the village. I knew in my heart that my father really left me behind because I was too young, but he told me that he was leaving me there for a reason. Then a few years later, we found Aang, and I knew the reason in my heart, but was too afraid to act.

Katara, my sister, was brash, and wanted to run off and rescue this boy we'd only known for a few days. And everything that had happened; everything Aang told us and showed us; it proved to me the reason I was there. But I still wasn't sure about it.

If I acted, I could harm the village... but then I remembered what my father told me when I was small, "Being brave means doing things even though you are afraid."

Today, I'm still travelling with Aang and my sister. And in my heart... I'm still afraid. Afraid that we might not make it home. Afraid that we might not see our father again. Afraid that I might even lose my sister, just like I lost my mother. But there is a lesson I've learned on my own while on my journeys, "Being strong means having hope even in when there is no hope."


	2. Zuko's Pearl Dagger

**Zuko's Pearl Dagger**

_"All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies."_

-Lord Frith, _Watership Down_

The thing that would mean the most to me would have to be... it's a... um, a pearl dagger that my Uncle sent to me as a gift when he was away in the Earth Kingdom. The enscription on the blade reads, "Never give up without a fight." It's something that I always keep. I knew that my Uncle was thinking specifically of me when he sent it.

It was not long after that, Uncle came home. He had sent us a letter; my cousin, Lu Ten, had died in battle. My mother always said that I was one to think of others, and when my sister accused my Uncle of weakness, I immediately bit back, "Uncle's not weak! He's probably just sad. Because his only son is gone."

And then on that day... in the North Pole... he said that I was like his son. I think that... Uncle is the only one... except for my mother... Uncle is the only one who really cared for me. I think that Uncle was the only one that understood me... especially after I lost my mother. Uncle was the only one who knew what I was going through, and he was the only one who comforted me.

It had been a few years since my mother had dissappeared, and I was about 14 years old. I begged my Uncle to let me go with him into the war room. I wanted my father to know that... I... actually... I don't know what I wanted my father to know. I think I just wanted him to notice me.

While we were all gathered in that room, an old General stood, and suggested that we send the new recruits to the front line, as decoys. I blurted out with no hesitation, "You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?"

But I would soon regret my words. My father told me that I had been disrespectful, and that the only way to settle this, and restore my honor, would be through Agni Kai-- a Firebending duel. I misunderstood him, though, and thought that I would merely have to defend my words against a tired old general. But when I dropped my cloak and faced my opponent, I was shocked to see that it was... my father.

I knelt to the floor in a most humble of bows. I begged for mercy. I looked up at my father in tears, "Please, father, I only had the fire nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"

"You will fight for your honor," my father ordered sternly.

But I continued to plead, searching for even an ounce of mercy in my father's hard heart, "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."

He ordered again, "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!"

"I won't fight you," I replied, knowing my pleas were hopeless.

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher," he said mercilessly, and then he struck me down, and burned my face badly. Onlookers grinned as if they were just watching some act in a play. Only one person stood with his head hung low in sorrow-- my Uncle.

I hadn't even had time to heal when I was banished afterwards. I was not allowed to set foot on Fire Nation grounds, not even sail in Fire Nation waters, or I would be put to death. The only way I would be able to return home, would be for me to capture the Avatar, and deliver him to my father.

My wound still fresh and wrapped in bandages, I gathered my things, and headed for the ship, the only men there to greet me being a group of sailors whose names I had not yet learned. My head drooped dejectedly, I walked on board, only to be greeted by the kindest of voices-- my Uncle Iroh.

No one understood why such a legend of a man-- why "The Dragon of the West"-- no one understood why Uncle would go with me, when I had failed so badly as a person. But he was there for me... and is still there for me. He was there for me even when we lost everything.

So... I guess, through all that... my honor, and the family that does love me; that is what the pearl dagger means to me. That is why it means the most to me.


	3. Aang's Blue Arrows

**Aang's Blue Arrows**

_"There's no meaning without pain."_

-Nana Osaki, _Nana_

The thing that is most special to me... maybe it's kind of wierd... but the thing that means the most are my tatoos. I got my tatoos when I mastered Airbending.

Before I got them, Monk Gyatso explained the process, and that it would be very painful, but that "There is no meaning without pain."

And, it was a very long process. I had to purify my skin from head to toe for the three days prior to my "initiation" and I was to fast and drink nothing but water for those three days.

Then the day awaited came. I was still a little afraid, but I remembered, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? I laid on my belly and waited, hopefully, yet still dreading the pain.

When the time came, my Airbending masters came in, but the only one I was really glad to see was Gyatso. He was like my father. I don't remember much of my real parents, so what I do remember of my younger years of childhood were of Gyatso: teaching me, reading me stories, eating fruit pies together. All these memories came flooding back, as the first strokes of pain started.

The arrows would start at the center of my back and trace up the back of my neck and end at my forehead; down both arms to my wrists; and both legs to my ankles. A sharp knife dug into the skin on my back, and I winced and shut my eyes.

"It's ok, Aang. It'll hurt, but we must cut deep for the tatoos to keep. This is only the beginning, you must prepair yourself for more pain," explained Gyatso.

"Ok," I muttered through clenched teeth.

My eyes fluttered open, only for a moment, but just in time to see the monk set down the bloody blade. "We must apply the ink now. It will be a lot more painful, because we're applying it to your open wounds," they told me.

I shut my eyes hard again, desperately trying to imagine myself somewhere else, but all I could think about was the pain engulfing all of my limbs. Tears began to pour out of my eyes like waterfalls, and I could no longer hold back my gasps of pain.

"Am I shameful for crying, Gyatso?" I asked through my tears.

"It is alright to cry, Aang. It reminds us that we are still human," he assured, as he grabbed my hand so I could hold it tightly. He gave me a strip of leather to bite down on; it made the pain a little easier to bear.

And suddenly, I felt the pain subside a little. No one was touching my wounds. I laid there and breathed heavily; it was finally over, for the most part. The monks wrapped my wounds in bandages, and told me that it would take a few days to recover.

And so I slept. For days, and days. I slept like I hadn't slept in years, and it's probably the most I've ever slept. After about 10 days, I awoke, and felt no pain. I stood up on my wobbly legs, and walked slowly to the wash basin. I looked in the mirror at the bandages on my head, and carefully began to unwrap them. I was almost afraid of what the marks would look like; afraid that now, there was no turning back. The arrows would be permanant.

As I unwrapped the last of those bandages, I looked in the mirror at the bright blue arrow upon my forehead. But, I was happy that there was no turning back now. I had a mark that told everyone who I was, and it showed that I was proud to be an Airbender. I was glad that I would remember the ritual for the rest of my life, because as Gyatso said, "There is no meaning without pain."


	4. Katara's Betrothel Necklace

**Katara's Betrothel Necklace **

_"There is not a day or night when a mother doe does not offer her life for her kittens, or an honest captain of Owsla his life for his chief's."_

-Lord Frith, _Watership Down_

We were poor. We were a peasant family. We had next to no possesions. We were a poor Water Tribe family, with nothing really but each other.

Then one day... my mother died. But it wasn't like she just died of sickness, or died in her sleep. My mother was killed... in a Fire Navy Raid. The navy had invaded our village; Sokka and I were just small at the time, but we both remember it like it was yesterday. The flames. The screams.

We sat huddled in the corner of our little makeshift hut, our mother burying our heads in her embrace, begging us, "Don't look children. Don't look!" She was crying, and so were Sokka and I. Then our father rushed in, shouting, "You stay hidden, the other warriors and I are going to hold them off!" and he was gone.

Then out of nowhere, a Fire Nation soldier appeared at our door. Sokka ripped away from my mother's arms, and yelled, "Get out! Now!"

The soldier approached ready to strike Sokka down; everything was happening so quickly. Sokka stood his ground, as the soldier stepped closer and closer, "Can you really take me on, boy!?" and the soldier flung my brother to the wall, where he hit his head hard. The soldier walked over towards Sokka, pondering whether or not to finish the job. But my mother wouldn't allow it, she let me go for a second, but in terror I clutched as hard to her as I could. She tried to pull me away, "Katara, love, we have to save Sokka!" I pulled and pulled, and accidentally pulled my mother's necklace off. As the necklace hit the ground, my mother shouted at me, "Run! Run, Katara! Run and find Daddy!"

I wasted no time. I can't even remember much of what happened next. It's all very blurry. I ran through the flames so fast that it felt as if I was flying. I don't even know how I found my father. I think I had stopped for some reason, and without warning someone grabbed me, and I screamed, "Let me go!" I screamed in terror, tears overflowing, when I realized the rough hands of my father were wiping the tears from my eyes. "Katara, it's daddy. What are you doing here?"

"Mommy and Sokka are in trouble!" I cried. "You have to help us, Daddy!" My father did not waste time speaking after that. He scooped me up tightly in his arms and just ran, as fast as he could back to our little hut. But when we got to our home... everything was quiet. My father set me down, and clutched my shoulders, "Stay here, Katara."

I looked around at our wrecked village. Flames were all around, eating what was left of simple tents and huts. Ashes rose, and mixed with the falling snow. I'll never forget the image of the black snow falling. There were no more Fire Navy soldiers. They had just left the village in ruins. Suddenly, I heard a sound of pain come from the little hut. I ran without thinking, straightway into our home, but stopped abruptly at the doorway. In the corner I saw Sokka crying silently; his head was bleeding but not terribly. Then I looked over at my father, who was hovered over my mother, cradling her motionless body in his arms. "My love..." he sobbed. I surveyed my surroundings again, only to see the Fire Navy soldier laying dead on the ground of our hut, my father's friend Bato standing over the body. I ran to my brother and hugged him, and cried. "Sokka... what happened?"

"The soldier hit me in the head again after you left, and mom jumped in the way. He hit her with a fire blast and she fell to the floor and didn't move. I couldn't move because I was so scared, Katara... and then... and then Uncle Bato came in and..."

"Don't say it, Sokka," I begged. "Don't say anymore." We sat for the longest time just holding each other, and crying. My father came over and held us.

The next morning, very early, before the sun would rise, we laid our mother to rest in a canoe and set it adrift onto the ocean, as is the tradition for the Water Tribe. Her face looked so placid, like she was just sleeping, but my father had explained to me that she wouldn't wake up. Sokka cried, and even my father cried, but I didn't cry. I don't know whether I understood what was going on, or whether in the back of my mind, I thought that I couldn't cry because I had to be strong. Then as the canoe was prepared to set it's last sail on the cold waters of the south pole, my father, my brother, and I all lit little lanterns to set adrift with the canoe, so our mother's soul would find her way into the spirit world.

We stood there for a long time, just watching the canoe flow away into the distance, until we could no longer see the lights of the laterns. My father clutched my hand tightly, and showed me my mother's necklace, "She would have wanted you to have this, Katara..." He placed the charm around my neck, and I began to cry. It was nothing but an old piece of cloth with a smooth stone that had waves of water carved into it... but it was all I had left of my mother. And that's why I'll always treasure it.


	5. Toph's Champion Belt Part I

**Toph's Champion Belt**

_"The most useless are those who never change through the years."_

-James M. Barrie

They say that babies have no memory of their birth, but the day I entered this world was much different than any ordinary baby. When I was born, I could barely see the world around me. All of what I saw was just a blurry haze. And as I was lifted to my mother's breast for the first time, my sight failed me. The last thing I ever saw was my mother; the one and only sight I would ever see. My grey eyes eventually glazed over, and were blank from then on.

As a child, I learned to speak at an early age. Sounds were my only way of communicating, and the only way for people to communicate with me.

However, walking was a much harder task. I had no real way of knowing where I was in my home, for I had always been carried. And though my father would have left it that way thinking that I would harm myself, my mother thought it best for me to grow stronger. I know that in her heart, my mother wanted to see me run, and play.

Of my first memories of walking, the one that sticks in my mind the most is the first day I fell-- hard. I was walking through our gardens, within the walls of the manor, and tripped over a large stone. I fell hard to the ground, and it knocked the wind out of me. But when I fell it was strange; all I could sense around me was the earth. I could smell it's rich scent; taste the dust in my mouth as I gasped for breath once again; hear the earth crumbling and cracking in my hands and under my feet; and most of all, I could feel it. I was aware of it. I could touch the earth, and pick up loose dirt and stones in my hands. As I began to sense the rock and stone surrounding me, I followed a path I found to the sounds rising from my home. I knew my mother's voice immediately, and ran as fast as I could to the room where she was.

And I stopped when I knew I had approached her. I felt her footsteps pound the floor as she ran to hold me in her arms, "Toph, you're hurt! Did you fall outside?"

"Yes, mama."

"But how did you find your way inside? Who led you in?" asked my mother, puzzled.

"No one, mama. I felt the ground, and heard your voice and found my home," I explained.

"You felt the ground, my Toph? I'm so proud of you," my mother assured as she hugged me tight. I never felt closer to my mother than when she hugged me.

From that one instance, sprouted a brilliant idea on my mother's part. That night at dinner, she proposed to my father that I take up Earthbending. My father, strict in his ways, immediately said no. "It's useless!" he protested.

But my mother pushed her case, "My darling, our Toph has felt the earth."

"What do you mean by this?"

"Tell your father, my Toph," urged my mother.

So I explained it to my father, "I stumbled and fell outside today, but felt the earth and it led me back home."

"It is surely not useless, darling," reasoned my mother softly. And after much debate, my father allowed it, and the next day I began my training as an Earthbender.

However, I was held back in my training, as requested by my father, and so was only taught the basic forms and breathing excercises. But the more I practiced, the more I felt the earth. I could feel it grab my feet as I touched the ground, and sense the vibrations moving through the earth. I began to sense the movement of the earth, just as I had sensed it's presence around me.

With more training, I began to makeout forms and shapes that were not rock and stone. And I began to recognize the footsteps of people as the stepped upon the earth. The first person I recognized was my mother. In this way I was able to see my mother again.

I knew that if I were able to learn more advanced moves, and progress in my training, that eventually, I could be able to see all that touched the surface of the earth, without the use of my eyes. And though I pleaded with my father to allow more advanced training, he declined, and said once again, "It is useless."

That night I laid in my bed and cried. I had heard from my mother that most people who are blind are not able to cry, but I was different. She said that it made me special. I felt my mother enter my dark room (lights were of no use to me), and she sat down on the edge of my bed.

"My dear Toph. It's only because your father worries about you," she assured.

"But mama, if I learned more, I feel like I could see everything. When I earthbend... I can see you," I sobbed.

"I'll talk to your father."

I laid there in my dark loneliness. I knew that in a way I was special, but at that moment, I had never felt more alone.

Then I heard quite by accident, my parents discussing my earthbending. "We can't allow her to strain herself!" said my father loudly.

"But she does so well... and..." explained my mother.

"But what? Learning to fight is useless for our daughter! She is fragile and helpless and blind! What if someone were to attack her! She'd never see it coming!" he argued.

"But that's the whole point, my love! When she earthbends she can see!" shouted my mother.

"And how do you know this? It is impossible for our daughter to see, wife! It is impossible to do anything without the ability to see. Our daughter... is... useless..."

**To be continued...**


End file.
